Steel stockholder installs radical crane design

A radical design of crane has its main beam is offset from the support frames and has a cantilevered hoist to keep loads clear of the support legs.

A radical new design of crane from Street Crane Company has been commissioned by Ireland's Heiton Steels, the largest Irish owned steel stockholder.

This is the seventh crane from Street to be installed by Heiton.

The unique Goliath design allows efficient use of storage space while speeding loading and unloading.

Designed to handle 8 tonnes safe working load, and with a 9m height of lift, the single girder crane is of a special cantilever construction.

Spanning 21.2m between the rails, the main beam is offset from the support frames and has a cantilevered hoist to keep loads clear of the support legs.

The main beam projects 5m and 7m beyond the track edge, permitting unimpeded loading and unloading of trucks on either side.

The design also enables the whole of the area between the tracks to be used for storage because access roadways within the tracks are not required.

Street's sales director, Keith Rainford commented, "This is an update to a style of crane that was always very popular with steel stockholders, concrete fabrication yards and in other high-turnover storage and manufacturing situations".

" This style of crane has not been available for a number of years and by bringing it up to date we are confident that we will attract interest from many industries.

The crane will be used to handle universal steel beams and shares the stockyard with an overhead travelling crane.

As the paths for these cranes cross, Street has engineered multi-level safety systems into the project.

A sophisticated anti-collision system recognises when either crane enters the critical area where their paths cross and prevents the other crane entering this zone.

Radio control of crane movements allows the operator to select a safe position with good visibility from which to control operations.

Floodlights improve visibility in the darker months.

Audible alarms warn of the cranes advance while emergency stops allow the operators to bring the cranes to a quick and safe standstill.

To assist productivity, the new crane has travel speeds of 80m/min in long travel, 30m/min in cross travel and a lift speed of 8m/min.

All movements are moderated by frequency inverter for smooth acceleration and deceleration and to assist load stability.

The crane is fitted with Street's VX4 twin-scrolling open-barrel hoist.

This gives an accurate vertical lift and placement to protect the product from damage by scraping.

It also helps to prolong the hoist and crane life by avoiding any pull to one side.

Commenting on the installation, Heiton's managing director, John McGeever said, "We have had good performance from Street equipment over a number of years".

" Nevertheless, the contract was open to competition from several suppliers".

" In the final analysis, Street won the order because they understood our needs and came up with an innovative design that meets them most accurately.

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